ALthough I have never heard of washing coal, apparently water doesn’t cut it. Instead of plain, pure water, 4-methylcyclohexane methanol is used. Called MCHM, this chemical helps remove the burnable fossil-fuel from the unburnable products around it like rock and dirt. Thousands of this litters were spilled this past week into the Elk River in West Virginia. 300,000 people are currently advised in the area not to drink the water, which is a rather scary thought. I mean if we can’t drink it, should we really breath in remains of it as the coal is burned? At the moment the toxicity levels are unknown. Within the same article, it states that although MCHM has not been proven to have a large health effect, only eye and skin irritation, it has also not been highly tested for its safety. I suppose this will have to change now that people will easily have contact with this organic solvent.
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